Hokousaï L'art japonais au XVII Siècle

This volume paints a lively portrait of an Edo‑period master who transformed Japanese art at the turn of the 19th century. Born into a mirror‑maker’s family, he trained with Katsukawa Shunshô before inheriting the Tawaraya Sôri workshop, eventually creating the distinctive Hokousaï‑riou style that fused Chinese techniques with a fresh naturalist vision. By the tenth year of the Kansei era his name finally appeared on printed works, sparking admiration from peers and the public alike.

Beyond painting, he turned his precise brush to literature, illustrating and authoring dozens of stories for women and children and composing popular haikai poems. Based in Asakusa, he gathered eager apprentices from Kyoto and Osaka, spreading his techniques to a new generation. The translation presented here lets listeners glimpse how this uniquely Japanese creator also influenced European artistic taste, offering a rare window onto the vibrant cultural exchange of the late 1700s.